Retail & Ecommerce

Lego wants to shorten its supply chain: The company plans to build its first US factory in Virginia to reduce the distance its plastic bricks have to travel.

Retail sales in Canada rose 0.9% in April: That suggests rising interest rates and inflation have yet to crimp household spending.

VideoAmp turns its attention to Hispanic viewers: A new partnership with TelevisaUnivision could help it claim even more of the measurement market.

Advertising reacts to the uncertain economy: Ad spending will remain strong this year, but the challenges ahead are many.

On today's episode, we discuss how much "Top Gun: Maverick" is helping movie theaters recover, why the number of American video game players is shrinking, the headwinds threatening air travel's recovery, how much money Spotify made from podcast ads, when Amazon may overtake Walmart as the largest retailer in the US, an unpopular opinion about the movie-viewing experience, how Bluetooth got its name, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Dave Frankland and Paul Verna and director of forecasting Oscar Orozco.

How safe is self-driving technology? Regulators are finding that self-driving technology may be advancing but is still prone to crashes. The news could delay availability of the tech beyond beta testing.

Retailers struggle with online returns, but charging won’t help: Brands like Asos and Boohoo should focus on improving the customer experience to help mitigate the effects of inflation and bracketing.

The relaunched Samsung Wallet lets users store payment cards and digital documents and features other tools that can help drive adoption.

Insider Intelligence spoke with Sanyu Dillon, executive vice president and CMO at Penguin Random House US, about brands building cultural fluency, entering the metaverse, and building digital communities with younger audiences.

Consumers want to buy sustainable products: But inflation is driving them to trade down, which may slow sales of products made from recycled materials as well as organic foods.

Rising prices have US adults lowering their costs, and 51% of these cost-cutters are spending less on dining out. Other expenses are in their crosshairs as well: 47% are shelling out less for clothing, toys, travel, and entertainment.

Zalando wants to be in with the cool kids: The online apparel retailer acquires a majority stake in Highsnobiety as it looks to tap into strong demand for luxury fashion.

Inflation continues to affect how people buy groceries: More shoppers are opting for pickup over delivery to avoid unnecessary costs.

A new law could ease supply chain pressures on retailers: The Ocean Shipping Reform Act will prevent price gouging and other anti-competitive practices.

Virality pays off, but you can’t force it: That’s the lesson in Cirkul’s TikTok fame, which has resulted in a $1 billion valuation.

How will inflation affect summer travel? The industry is hoping for business to rebound, but inflation could derail those plans.